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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109375">The Mayor Dewey Museum of Dewey History</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJZH/pseuds/CaptainJZH'>CaptainJZH</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety Attacks, Autistic Steven Universe, Flashbacks, Future Fic, Gen, Museums, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:00:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,060</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109375</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainJZH/pseuds/CaptainJZH</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As a kid, Steven loved going to the local museum, which was a glorified tribute to Mayor Dewey. As an adult, Steven visits the museum again, and the new exhibits hit a little close to home.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Mayor Dewey Museum of Dewey History</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Beach City, 2006</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Five-year-old Steven Universe ran down the boardwalk, giddily heading towards the Beach City Community Center, where, on the upper floor, contained a small museum dedicated to the history of Beach City. When Greg had first arrived in the town those many years ago, he recalled the museum simply being called “The Beach City Museum of History.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, ever since Bill Dewey was elected mayor, the museum was named “The Mayor Dewey Museum of Dewey History,” which even Greg knew was tacky. Inside, what used to be a modest collection of 19th century artifacts became a glorified tribute to the Dewey family, from William Dewey all the way to the present.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steven didn’t care, though. The small boy considered the tiny second-floor museum to be one of his favorite places, frequenting it many times throughout his childhood. He enjoyed the first section the most, chronicling William Dewey’s heroic battle against a terrible sea monster and how everyone adored the flawless, perfect man (Greg always questioned the educational value of this part). </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next several sections glossed over the other Deweys leading up to the one they knew, who were deemed unimportant compared to the accomplishments of “The Great, Greatest Mayor Bill Dewey,” as his section proclaimed. It covered his harrowing rise to power, as he ran completely unopposed (the exhibit claimed that other candidates cowered before the might of Dewey’s pure masculine energy) and won in a landslide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Greg knew for sure that part was wrong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Beach City, 2020</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>19-year-old Steven Universe drove his Dondai Supremo down the main highway, passing by Little Homeworld and spotting the familiar seaside down appear on the horizon. He knew he could have travelled by warp pad, but he enjoyed the experience of driving home, especially when he was coming from far away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was supposed to meet the Gems at the house at 1:00 for lunch, but he was an hour early and had some time to kill. Parking his car near the boardwalk, he saw the Community Center at the end of the street and felt pangs of nostalgia.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what?” he said to himself. “Why not? For old time’s sake.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Upon heading up the stairs, he knew something was different. Had they repainted? No, something else… The sign above the door had changed. It was now “The Beach City Museum of Gem &amp; Human History,” which rubbed him the wrong way for some reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inside the museum, it was completely different from how he remembered it. Gone was the fifty-foot figure of William Dewey fighting a sea monster, and instead was a painting of Obsidian, the fusion of the Gems and his mother, fighting Centipeetle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Historically accurate, okay…” he sighed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next section removed the Deweys entirely, focusing on the founding of Funland Amusement Park in the 1920s, how the town weathered the Great Depression, the members of the town who served in World War II and Vietnam, the town’s response to hurricanes and other natural disasters, etc. Virtually no mention of the Deweys. Still, Steven thought it was all very fascinating. He never really thought about his hometown being connected to history that way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then came the section on Gem Attacks. At first, it just showed rough 19th century sketches of Corrupted Gems, coupled with journal entries of early settlers describing them. Then came Buddy Buddwick’s sketches of the Temple and other nearby Gem locations. Steven knew about all of this. He knew it all too well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, a section of Homeworld’s invasion of Earth. Steven’s heart sank. The Red Eye. Lapis taking the ocean. The Handship. Peridot’s escape pod. Fusion experiments. The fight with Jasper on the beach. Aquamarine and Topaz. The Diamonds. Spinel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steven felt his breathing accelerate. His legs went weak. This was his life! Just...on display! For everyone to see! He had to talk to someone. He fumbled around in his pocket for his phone and searched for Connie’s name. He tapped it, and it started to dial.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Steven!” Connie answered. “Everything okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I think I’m having a panic attack,” Steven said, sitting down in front of an exhibit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Connie said. “First, just breathe. In through the nose, out through the mouth.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steven followed along, slowing his breathing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, close your eyes. Imagine yourself on a cloud, floating in the sky.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steven felt his muscles relax as he imagined just that. “Okay…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And now talk to me. What happened?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steven explained everything. “And it’s so fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you know? Like, this is all stuff I went through! And it’s just...here. In a museum. My </span>
  <em>
    <span>life </span>
  </em>
  <span>is history. Literally. Can you believe that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, that is really crazy,” Connie agreed. “And you said it used to be all about the Deweys?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! In hindsight it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>inaccurate, but I dunno, I liked it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wonder what happened to all the Dewey stuff that used to be there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steven wondered that too, and he knew he might have the answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Steven!” Bill Dewey said, greeting Steven at the door. “What, uh, brings you to my humble abode?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Steven sheepishly began, “You remember that old Museum of Dewey History? Uh, what happened to all that stuff? It’s changed quite a bit since then, heh, and I kinda miss it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The former mayor practically lit up and gestured for Steven to follow him inside the house, down into the basement. The basement was divided into two sections: A section for train sets (which Steven went starry-eyed at) and a section for his old mayoral merchandise — including all the old museum exhibits.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh man, this is so cool!” Steven said. “I remember all these!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heh, I think you were the only one who actually liked that place. The city council was always threatening to shut it down. Claimed I was being ‘egotistical.’”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You kinda were,” Steven remarked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Dewey defended, chuckling. “It’s true, but you shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>say it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for letting me see all this, Mr. Dewey,” Steven nodded. “This is all a blast from the past.” Steven checked the time. It was 12:50. “Shoot, I gotta meet the Gems for lunch. See ya!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Steven ran up the stairs and out of the house. Dewey stood in the basement, silently admiring his mayor memorabilia. Especially the cut-out of William Dewey fighting the sea monster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was always his favorite.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to e350tb for beta-reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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